One of the things I love about living in the Philippines is it’s made up of 7,107 islands and this means the sea is accessible even if you live in a city. On weekends when our schedule permits, we drive to the beach to unwind and take a break from the hustle and bustle the city brings. One particular long weekend a friend of ours invited us to their beach house and it was the perfect excuse to road test the new KIA Grand Carnival.
OMG, my kids have been begging us for a bigger car. Ever since they’ve experienced KIA Sportage they’ve been keen on getting a similar car. So for our most recent beach trip they were equally excited to ride the newest Grand Carnival.
The European-inspired design has a distinctive grille, aerodynamic side holding lines, a modern wide stance, a cab-forward design–making its overall design turn heads everywhere. Aside from how it looks on the outside, it also has a lot of features on the inside that we love.
SMART KEY
Push start/stop button like the other KIA vehicles. I am honestly getting used to this technology!
The KIA Grand Carnival is available in nine exterior colors- Clear White, Snow White Pearl, Bright Silver, Platinum Graphite, Aurora Black Pearl, Formal Deep Blue, Sky Beige, Titanium Brown, and Black Berry.
KIA GRILLE
The handsome glossy black with white chrome bar grille makes it stand out, just like the Forte and Sportage 🙂
The 3.3L V6 AT Gas Grand Carnival is surprisingly easy to drive.
As for the interior, it’s got dark wood and gloss black accents that complement the leather seats.
7-Seater
The KIA Grand Carnival 2.2L AT Diesel is a 7-seater with two captain’s seats. The captain’s seats are stand-up seats that can be pulled up to provide more space.
My kids got dibs on each captain’s seat. They like having their own space–it makes them feel like they’re adults.
POWER SEATS
One of the features that I like about KIA Grand Carnival is the 8-way adjustable front seats which are electronically powered making it easy for the driver and front passenger to comfortably adjust their seats according to their liking. There’s also an option to save two seat settings. So if there’s two people taking turns driving the Grand Carnival, they can just press the seat set located on the driver’s side door–no need to manually set again the seat. I love this feature! Perfect for those who share cars!
HILL-START ASSIST CONTROL & ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL
On inclines, I can start the Grand Carnival without worrying about rolling backwards thanks to the Hill-start Assist Control (HAC). And when I had to suddenly turn or brake, I didn’t worry about sudden jerking because the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) helps brake pressure.
LEATHER STEERING WHEEL WITH AUDIO & CRUISE CONTROLS
Just like the KIA Forte & KIA Sportage, the Grand Carnival offers audio & cruise controls on the steering wheel.
REAR VIEW CAMERA
Backing up is made easy with its rear view camera. It also has an integrated AM/FM radio, CD, MP3, Aux & USB ports with charger.
TRI-ZONE FULL AUTO CLIMATE CONTROL AIRCON SYSTEM
A separate air conditioner control for the driver and front passenger. This is gold for me! Since Mr. JG & I have different air con preferences (he likes it super cold & I like it just right) having separate controls is perfect and we can opt to sync it too!
FRONT PASSENGER BYPASS SWITCH
Switch for doors, lights and sunroof are located in between the front LED lights.
It’s got a spacious top compartment aside from the usual glove box.
GLOVE BOX COOLING
But KIA Grand Carnival’s glove compartment isn’t your typical one, you can use it to cool your snacks. Just like what I did with the Forte. Teehee.
CENTER CONSOLE COMPARTMENT
The center console has a small catch-all tray that’s removable, letting you fit in a small sling bag!
Tucked inside is a USB port and12V port.
6-SPEED AT with SPORT MODE
It’s got an Active Eco feature and a park assist feature that you can switch on and off.
Another USB port right beside the AUX.
SEAT WARMER
While this may work best in countries that experience winter, it’s beneficial also for people like me who gets cold easily. This seat warmer feature of the Grand Carnival is love!
Side compartment where one can put a few items. I tucked my Macbook Air and it fits just right.
PARKING ASSIST SYSTEM
It has front and rear sensors and you can even see the alert flashing on your side mirror.
POWER SIDE MIRROR
The side mirror auto folds and it beeps and lights up at night to let the driver know there’s a car near your side.
Another USB port located at the back of the center console.
SUNROOF
Another thing my kids love about the Grand Carnival–the sunroof.
It’s also got a built in sun protector to shield you from harsh sun rays.
There’s also an air condition control located on the right rear side.
POWER SLIDING DOOR
No need to muster enough strength to open the door for the Grand Carnival has power sliding doors. Just pull it gently and it automatically opens for you. There’s also a switch located on each side of the door–press it from the inside to open and close.
18 INCH ALLOY WHEELS
PROJECTOR HEADLAMPS & HALOGEN FOGLAMPS
The Grand Carnival is ideal for families that like a spacious vehicle. It can comfortably fit 7 people and leave enough room for luggage. It has great leg room too guuuuuys!
The smart tailgate mode automatically lets users open and close the tailgate with their smart key in close range– useful and very efficient for when hands are full.
The size of the Grand Carnival for me is just right. It fits my family comfortably and has more than enough room for our stuff. The ease in opening and closing the doors as well as controlling the air conditioning are just some of things we love about it.
The 3rd row is pop up sinking seats so it folds fully should you need the space to load more items.
Not used to seeing our stuff neatly placed at the back. The Grand Carnival sure has spacious cargo room.
Under the hood, Kia Grand Carnival boasts its Lambda II 3.3L, V6, MPI, DOHC, 24V gas engine.
The KIA Grand Carnival offers smart technology and intelligent design that makes driving it whether in the city or out of town pleasurable. My family & I looooove it!
Check out how much fun I had driving the Kia Grand Carnival by watching the video. 🙂
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How’s the after sales service? PMS? Are they okay. No problems with the vehicle? Sorry….I’m curious. 🙂
Hi Vincent! Haven’t tried after sales service since I only had the car for the weekend. 🙂 But during the time it was with me, didn’t experience any problem naman. 🙂 I hope this helps!